The Arrow and the Viking
by vladtheobsessive
Summary: <html><head></head>Two warring societies are considering a treaty. Generation upon generation of fighting will cease. But how do Hiccup and Merida find themselves entangled in this?</html>


Berk had for the most part, been restored to calm, after the war that tore through the village. Sure, here and there a chunk of ice _still_ hadn't melted, for odd reasons unknown. But it was peaceful, and oddly...Serene. No wars, or even minor disputes threatened to break out. It may tie in to the whole "rebuild all the burnt/buried/destroyed houses", but for the most part it was all good. They even had large, fresh fish nets hauled into the village.

Stoick's frowned face stared at Berk. The progress the village was going through, he felt was the only thing that helped him sleep at night.

"How's she holdin up?"

"She's beautiful Gobber. At this rate, Berk will be an even better place to call home. I'd say, by Arvin Dale's Fire." Stoick proudly declared.

He turned to face Gobber, who was still tinkering with his arm.

"You think you can make wings, tails, and legs for Dragons?" Stoick asked.

"Well, I've never tried it meself, it might require a little' "Hiccup flare", if ya get my point...but aye...I think I can." Gobber scratched his mustache in thought.

"Good. We have many injured dragons. Speaking of Hiccup, where is he?" Frowned the Chief.

"I let'him off for a'bit. Y'know, to let him spend time with Toothless. He's been workin' himself ta death when he's not with tha' Dragon." Explained the one-legged viking.

"I'm sure he understands the seriousness of this little, "situation" we're in." Grumbled Stoick as he walked off.

Gobber watched his old friend walk by. It seemed like the Haddock family's happiness was very hard to ever come by. Through all their troubles, somehow Gobber always managed to get himself wound up in them.

"Stoick! We've got..A message!" Panted a viking, who ran halfway across Berk from the docks, waving a piece of paper..

"Who's it from." Stoick asked, snatching the message.

"The King of DunBroch..."

Stoick scanned the content of the letter briefly, walking away

"Greeting Hairy Hooligans...formal rubbish...invite to the kingdom...truce...formal gibberish...suitors for the princess? Thor-all'mighty he has a sense of humor." chuckles the chief.

"Wait what? He's serious about' this? We've been at war for ages!" Stoick let any trace of a smile vanish.

His first instinct was to rush to Valka, wherever she was. Chances were, he would need quite a lot of help here.

"Val! Where are you?" Stoick called out in the seemingly empty house he was in. The large man clumsily strode through the house. Stoick grunted while he squeezed through the back door and tripped.

"I have _got_ to fix that." he barked, glaring at the doorway.

He froze when he saw Valka leaning over, applying salves and bandages to a Hobblegrunt's leg.

"She was injured by Drago's spear. Muscles torn. Lot's of blood loss" She softly spoke through knit eyebrows. She tightly knotted together a bind over the groaning beasts leg. "So many were injured, Stoick, So many." somberly spoke his wife.

"Aye. Good Viking lost their limbs. Some their life. All we can do is hope this never has to happen. Val...we got a proposal from Those Across the Seas." Stoick sighed. Valka's eyes widened.

"Haven't the Vikings been at war with them for years?"

"Aye-"

"There is more to this then it seems, isn't there?" Interjected Valka. She rolled out another bandage and began wetting, to apply on a Nadder's tail. She calmly stroked it's side causing it to collapse.

"They...They want a marriage between the clans." Stoick huffed.

"Well good look with that!" Valka laughed. "It would be hot day in Jotunheim before Hiccup would accept that."

"Aye. That's what I thought too, but Hiccup will have to accept the responsibility of a chief, and do whats best for the people." Stoick took a pause in his speech to notice Valka stifling giggles. An almost pouting frown was etched on his face.

"I'm sorry! It's just so...amusing! Watching you talk like that. You know how adventurous Hiccup is!I doubt the weight of this entire island will prevent him and Toothless from flying off the edge of the world!" she circled around Stoick, poking him with her staff, trying to provoke a response. Alas, his name wasn't Stoick for nothing.

"But this is serious Val! Six generations of war and bloodshed could be ceased!"

"Alright, Alright! Just don't complain too much when Hiccup refuses!"

A strand of red hair, fluttered softly in the wind. It was sunny, the air was humid, and trees were calmly swaying in the wind.

"Faster Angus! Come on!" a girl yelled, as she fired an arrow. It whistled and bent in the wind, before splitting the shaft of another arrow, and lodged deep into the boards of oak.

She had a toothy grin, growing wider, with the clatter of hooves growing louder. She took a sharp turn, notching another arrow and aimed for a new target. The horse's white socks left the ground, and soared through the air. She took a deep breath and rapidly let loose two more arrows. Both embedded deeply into separate targets.

Merida gave a cry of excitement.

The horse and the rider fiercely passed through the forests, and onto the red sands of mountains.

"I will taste those fiery waters once more!" Merida yelled through laughter. She slung her bow over her shoulder. Patting the horse's neck, she slowed down in front of a massive orange stone pillar, that formed an arch around the Fire Falls.

She jumped of her horse. She stared at the gleaming falls with a gleeful expression. She jumped onto the massive stone. Angus had wandered off to chew on grass, so she had no extra push. Her finger slipped through the cracks in the ancient rock. In a few grunts a misplaced footing, she eventually climbed her way to the top, where she hollered out a cry of victory.

Cupping her hands together, Merida collected water she thirsted for. Squinting her eyes closely at it, she barely made out the reflection of a cave.

"Whats this?" she whispered, gazing up into the mountains cavity.

She jumped onto the side of the mountain, and struggled up the sharp canyon. She pulled herself onto the stone platform, wiping sweat from her brow. She felt reasonably uneasy approaching the cavern.

"Where did you come from? When?" Merida mumbled.

As she stepped in, she found an old torch that seemed to have never seem a fire. She gingerly set it ablaze with piece of flint and a striker, she found conveniently left behind. The cave lite up with an eerie glow.

"It's huge!" she yelled, her words echoing back to her. Harshly a gasping, she covered her mouth. She strolled around aimlessly, until her foot knocked something over. A hollow crack resounded through the cave. Looking down, she saw what she had stepped on.

It was a giant, skeletal hand.

She screamed, but oddly not in fear. More in...excitement, even though she was still quite shocked.

"This is no cave! It's a tomb." she whispered. The idea of her own voice repeating again did not strike her as appealing.

In the corner of the cave, she saw a tree stump. Hurrying over to it, she saw an old book, and a massive Bearded Axe lying over it.

It piqued her curiosity, as she hefted the axe off, and leaned it on the rock behind her. Lighting a candle, she assumed the writer of the book had used, she made out the badly written Gael on the front cover.

It read "The Adventures of Bork" above it, was what she believed to be the same title written in foreign runes. She flipped to the first page, and realized she could not understand a word it said. Regardless, she kept flipping through the delicate pages. A quarter from the end, she made out some more badly written Gael.

"_Another attack in DunBroch. Why can't these-"_ She could not make out the rest of the words, as he resorted to his home language. She giggled when she realized they were probably angry swears, and there were _plenty_. "_-rock heads ever consider treaty. It bad enough. Men die. Me found a cave. They believe my tales, but was the strength of Nurk what opened mountain. His firey breathe break many rock."_ Pausing at his confusing words, she looked at the caverns walls, which were pitch black.

"But it can't-" she looked back at the great axe. Picking it up, she slammed it against the wall. A rock was chipped off to reveal the orange rock behind it. "What creature could hollow out solid rock?"

She resumed reading what she now guessed to be a diary.

"_I met a woman. She very nice. Teach me basic "Gael". Want to bring her back, if live. Nurk made nest. He not like DunBroch. Sleep. Battle next day." _

She read for what seemed a mere few minutes, of course it was probably longer since she had to decipher his writing. Merida gasped when she heard the faint sound of a horse whinnying. Looking outside the cave, saw the darkening skies.

"Angus! Nightfall! Mum!" Panicking, she bookmarked the page with strands of her hair. Blowing out the candles, she ran to the opening, where she left the torch to return another day. She hurried down the steep rock, and made her way to the bottom with only a few cuts and scratches.

"Angus! Show us the meaning of haste!" She yelled as the horse took off.

Hiccup did not take the news well, if Stoick were to interpret his several shouts of "I don't want to get married" "Are you joking?" "I want roam the skies forever." correctly.

Hiccup had blew into a new contraption of his, which summoned his loyal Night Fury to carry him off to who knows where.

"That's not fair." Stoick mumbled. "How am I to catch him if he keeps getting more of those."

Hiccup now created a device to mask his scent, with that of a plant, whenever he needed. He had Toothless now flying on his own, if he had to. Not to mention if Night Fury wished it, he had the backing of every dragon on Berk.

"Don't worry. He'll come back." Valka reassured, swooping off Cloudjumper.

"How can you say that? Odin knows where those Two'll fly off to this time."

"Because he always does."

Stoick grunted, and drank another tankard of some sort drink.

"Can you believe him Bud? I've done everything he's asked me to for months, and this is what I get? Well, I wasn't even looking for anything- but..._Seriously?_ There hasn't been a war for 3 generations! You're all I need."

Toothless let out a guttural sound, and slapped him with his ear.

"Got it."

Hiccup adjusted his foot, and rocketed off with a few mechanical clicks.

They turned and twisted in wide circles, the fading sunlight gleaming of both figures. Swooping down, they plunged underwater, and popped out a second later, only Toothless carried fish in his mouth. He shot up above the clouds, disappearing from sight.

The only way for them to be spotted, was if Toothless glowed blue. An ability he took no shame in frequently displaying.

Emerging from the cloak of the clouds, the Viking and his Night Fury steeply dived down in the air, and landed on a small island, where Toothless had shot a plasma bolt, starting a fire.

Hiccup dismounted Toothless, and slid down to the Night Fury's side.

"One day bud, it'll be just you and me. Flying for eternity. What do you think about that? You and me, roaming the skies...forever." Hiccup said, patting the side of the dragon.

"I'm not sure about the dragon, but I don't quite like it. After all, we've only just found each other." Valka smirked, poking the fire. Toothless quickly jumped up, and followed Cloudjumper, who emerged from the back of a tree.

"Hi mom. Did dad tell you-"

"Oh yes, I know all about it. I told him you'd respond this way. It wasn't shocking that he didn't change his mind."

"Well, there's the Viking charm everyone loves so much," Sarcastically remarked Hiccup.

"Quite a show you put on there. Makes me wish I was younger." she joked.

"Helga is your age, and she can't get out of her chair. I think you're doing pretty well." Hiccup laughed. Valka chuckled, while twirling her staff.

"You _do_ know how much Stoick expects from you." Valka inquired.

"It's getting to be a bit _too _much, to be honest." sighed the teen.

"You know, Stoick and I were arranged to be married." Valka saw a small spark of hope jolt Hiccup. "It was a peace offering, to settle a dispute between clans. The good of the many outdo the good of the one, they always told us."

"At least it was someone on Berk. I could end up married to a fish for all I know."

"Hiccup. Stoick wants you to be a far greater man then he ever was. He's bound to put you in more turmoil then even he had ever faced. I can't help you, but just try to survive, for your mothers sake aye?"

"Okay." Hiccup sighed.

Valka pulled him into a tight embrace, and planted a kiss on the top of his head.

"Up for a race?" She asked with a slightly feral grin.

Hiccup smiled, and blew his whistle again, which sounded oddly like a Night Furies scream.

Toothless blurred behind him and tossed him over his neck.

"Ready when you are!"

The top hook on her staff was suddenly pulled up by Cloudjumper's wing, and Valka was plopped down on the back of Cloudjumper.

Toothless fired a stray plasma bolt into the sky, where it exploded into waves.

When that sound reached their ears, they sped off. They twisted and turned, and their dragons did what dragons did in the air; showed off.

Valka stood up on the great Stormcutter's back, swinging her staff in one hand, and tossing it in the air.

Hiccup mimicked, only he spun his flaming sword, while Toothless dived into the water. Cloudjumper's eyes narrowed. The dragon looked at Valka, as if asking for permission.

"Oh yes, Let's give'em a challenge." Cloudjumper spun his great wings, and former a vortex in the water.

Instead, Toothless shot up, and before flying skyward, spit water in the Stormcutter's face. The gutteral laugh of Toothless, and Valka following the notion caused a smile to break out on Hiccup's face.

"Come on on, let's take this up a notch." The Night Fury stuck his tongue out, in what Hiccup had now figured to be anticipation.

The Night Fury began to glow blue. They soared above the cloud faster, with Valka and Cloudjumper gaining on them.

Berk was then sighted. Toothless fired more plasma bolts, seemingly for no reason. Valka tapped her dragons head, and he let out a large, strong jet of fire.

The workers of Berk had gathered to watch the two put on a great big show.

Hiccup stared at Valka, and both dragons flew besides each other, their wings vertical to the ocean.

Valka and Hiccup held out a hand, and latched onto each other while their dragon switched around them.

Cloudjumper lightly slapped Hiccup, which he had figured to be how the Dragon showed affection. Toothless licked Valka's hand, with a great smile spread across his face.

The dragons and their riders had both stopped, and landed in front of Stoick, who was clapping with the rest of the crowd.

Any dragon race became a great spectacle to Berk, and the entire village gathered around to watch it.

"Hiccup. I'm really sorry about all of..._this, _but we need to talk."

Vikings all around gathered their dragon's, and said their good night's.

Valka, Stoick, and Hiccup had all gathered in front of a fire.

"Fergus? I believe you would like the honor of telling our daughter?" the crisp voice of the queen commanded. She sent a look off to the triplets, which they took as they're dismissal.

"Oh no." was all that was heard from Merida, through the awkward silence.

"Well ya see lassie...We have- uhm...The clans-"

"The clans, despite the events of the last time they tried this, have given you _another_ chance. And you can't mess this up. You have the people of this kingdom take into consideration." The queen spoke again.

"How many more times do you want me to say, I. Don't. Want. To. Get. Married!" Yelled the princess, stabbing several knives and forks into the table.

"A princess does not behave so uncivilized, especially at the table!" she raised her voice.

"Your "perfect" princess does not exist! I will not get my hand dirty with this again!" Merida roared in frustration.

"We don't have a choice." came the unexpected voice of Fergus. "I wasn't looking forward to this day. When my own daughter would have ta turn to a dull life besides a _prince_ as an _ornament._" He spat the words out as if they tasted disgusting.

"If it weren't for the damned traditions, I would not consider this rubbish!"thundered the king, slamming his fist on the table. The quake of the table caused the two to jump. There was a fierce look on the large mans face. Moments later, he let out a cry, banging his head on the table.

"Sweetheart I did not one want this for you, I never did." Fergus cried, hugging Merida. "I tried to make things as best as I could. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, dad." Merida did not quite know how to respond to the crying man, as he was still getting over the initial shock.

He looked at her, before walking off, looking uneasy and defeated.

Merida ran off, leaving the Queen to explain the great mess on the table.

**Soooo that's what I got so far, not to bad I hope, certainly not the best but yeah. I managed to cram a LOTR and Doctor Who reference in there, so I suppose that's a good thing. It came out a bit **_**messy**_** nearing the end, but I hope that's fixable.**** Now few things, ****_I am emotionally damaged by Bewilderbeast's death. I am permanently emotionally damaged by Stoick's death to levels I have not yet begun to comprehend, as it is too much psychological violation then I can handle. Ever. _****_Therefore none of my ramblings I call stories shall include you-know-what-what_****_. _****That aside, this is post-HTTYD2, and Post-everything-that-happened-in-Brave. Oh, and MERRICUP.**

**Please review! Reviewing is brilliant! Constructive Criticism does _wonders_ for me, and feel free to point out all my mistakes and how to fix them! Thanks you!**


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